‘Bitcoin Is Over’: Former Meta and Google Engineer Warns of Quantum and Miner Time Bombs Affecting BTC

1 month ago

Patrick Shyu, the erstwhile Meta and Google technologist known online arsenic Techlead, warns that quantum computing and decaying miner incentives are 2 undefused threats hanging implicit Bitcoin.

Key Takeaways

  • Patrick Shyu says 95% of each bitcoin is already minted portion the interest system miners request “never showed up.”
  • Shyu sold his BTC successful June 2026 aft a 50% clang from $126,000, blaming excessive leverage for his losses.
  • Bitcoin developers are weighing quantum fixes similar BIP-361 arsenic immoderate researchers oculus superior hazard adjacent 2030.

A Warning Worth Heeding

Shyu, who served arsenic a tech pb astatine Google and aboriginal arsenic a unit bundle technologist astatine Meta earlier gathering a YouTube assemblage of much than a cardinal subscribers, laid retired his lawsuit successful a caller video, zeroing successful connected the issues of quantum computing and the aboriginal of miner incentives, stating:

I sold each my Bitcoin, and I suffered perfectly monolithic fiscal losses

The archetypal bomb, successful Shyu’s words, is the dilatory erosion of the network’s information budget. “Miners unafraid the network, and they person to get paid successful 2 ways: either recently minted coins oregon your transaction fees,” helium explained. The artifact subsidy is chopped successful fractional astir each 4 years and presently stands astatine 3.125 BTC, with the adjacent halving expected successful 2028.

The problem, helium argues, is that caller coins are moving retired and fees person not filled the gap. “95% of each Bitcoin is already minted. The interest system they would beryllium connected ne'er showed up,” Shyu noted, portion further warning:

As fees fade, miners power off, information drops, the web weakens again… and a dilatory decease spiral could acceptable in. Bitcoin is over.

Miner accent is already disposable successful the information arsenic hashprice, a regular measurement of mining gross per portion of computing power, hovers astir $29 per petahash per 2nd this month, and miners absorbed an 18% hashprice crash successful precocious June arsenic Bitcoin’s mining trouble jumped 7.15%.

The Quantum Clock

The 2nd weaponry is quantum computing due to the fact that a sufficiently almighty quantum instrumentality could, successful theory, usage Shor’s algorithm to deduce private keys from exposed nationalist keys, putting older bitcoin addresses astatine risk. Timelines alteration widely, arsenic task capitalist Nic Carter has pointed to a imaginable “Q-Day” around 2035, portion different probe published this twelvemonth has shifted immoderate readying horizons toward 2030.

Not everyone is successful connected the panic, with respective academics concluding precocious that attacking Bitcoin’s mining process itself would necessitate “the vigor of a star,” and the manufacture has mounted a wide information contention to quantum-proof the chain.

Proposals see BIP-361, a three-phase brushed fork that would yet freeze coins that skip migration to quantum-safe addresses, portion Starkware’s main merchandise serviceman has published a strategy for quantum-safe transactions built from existing rules.

Popular expert Willy Woo excessively has argued the menace is already being met, pointing to surging dev activity astir the issue.

‘Massive Financial Losses’

Shyu’s ain exit was arsenic overmuch astir leverage arsenic protocol design. “I utilized excessive leverage. A tiny mistake led to melodramatic consequences,” helium admitted. Bitcoin fell from astir $126,000 successful October 2025 to the debased $60,000s this summer, a drawdown of astir 50% that triggered automatic liquidations of his leveraged position. He described the marketplace arsenic walking connected “a bladed furniture of ice.”

Even aft capitulating, the technologist insists helium has not abandoned the plus people entirely, calling himself “still a semipermanent bullish investor.” Critics person noted that Shyu has a past of melodramatic reversals, and his informing landed during a week erstwhile the marketplace moved the different way.

Whether either weaponry ever detonates depends connected decisions inactive years out. The 2028 halving volition chopped the artifact subsidy to 1.5625 BTC, sharpening the interest debate, and developers person yet to coalesce astir a azygous quantum-migration path.

View source